One Night Stand
by Kellen
Summary: Matsumoto took entirely too much pleasure in telling people that it took a one night stand before she and her captain could work together.


_**One Night Stand**  
__by Kellen_

_A Bleach fanfiction_

_Summary: Matsumoto took entirely too much pleasure in telling people that it took a one night stand before she and her captain could work together._

_Rating: PG_

_Disclaimer: The Bleach characters and ideas are the creative property of Kubo Tite, and the media companies that distribute Bleach. I write merely for my own, and perhaps others, enjoyment._

_Author's Notes: This started out as a humorous theme-fic supposed to feature Hitsugaya. Instead, Matsumoto owns it and it turned into slight angst and action. Don't ask. I don't know…

* * *

_

A captain needed to learn to how to work with his vice captain, and a vice captain was expected to bend to her captain's will to make the learning process easier. That's how it was supposed to be. Hitsugaya Toushirou was sure of it.

His vice captain, however, must have had different training.

They'd been together just over a month now, and Hitsugaya was seriously considering pulling a different vice from the divisions. The captain mulled over this, tapping his fingers against the inkwell. "Shunsui," he muttered, dark humor invading his tone. "He's a known womanizer." Maybe he'd trade plain Nanao for outrageous Matsumoto.

Matsumoto Rangiku. Vice Captain of the Tenth Division. Others insisted she was competent but all Hitsugaya had ever seen was laziness. She brushed paperwork aside every day, and teased her captain mercilessly. Matsumoto offered an unappreciated counterpoint to a serious, hard-working captain, and was as stubborn as anything Hitsugaya had ever seen.

Tenth Division was going to fall apart. Hitsugaya just knew it. Another month of them being at odds and the division would just completely fall to pieces.

It was bound to look oh-so perfect on a young captain's record.

He sighed again, carefully separating the tasks assigned to the Tenth. Several of these would go straight to Matsumoto; he had a nice-sized stack of assignments for her when there was an almost frantic knocking. Quickly, he bade his visitor to come inside, and looked up at the intruder.

It was Tenth's six seat – Hitsugaya couldn't remember his name at all – and the man rushed into the office before dropping to his knees. Hitsugaya blinked; the man's clothes were rumpled and dirty, and blood was slowly tracking its way down his arm to pool on the floor. Professionalism pushed aside the surprise and Hitsugaya quickly – and calmly – asked what had happened.

The man looked up and Hitsugaya was unnerved by the stark desperation in his eyes. "Our recruits, Captain. Vice Captain Matsumoto took them to the Living World for training…"

Hitsugaya held up a hand, nearly snarling in irritation. "I know this."

"She sent me to get help, sir. There was an influx of hollows, and several of the recruits were caught off-guard."

Hitsugaya strode to a corner, where Hyourinmaru rested. "Don't tell me my Vice Captain can't handle this little thing."

The man swallowed audibly before speaking in defense of Matsumoto. "She was injured while protecting others, Captain. They've managed to destroy the hollows, but some in the group felt more gathering."

Hitsugaya secured his sword on his back, face impassive. "Stay here," he ordered. "Get your wounds seen to." With that, he was gone.

* * *

Matsumoto ducked beneath a pile of rubble and scooted backward until she hit the wall behind her. The lean-to she'd found wasn't much protection from either the hollows or the elements. Its weathered, gray wood barely stood against the wind and rain, and the heap of discarded lumber next to it only gave marginal protection, and served to make this place she found seem more dead, more abandoned. The tree line wasn't too far away, and Matsumoto might have sought shelter there, in order to regroup, but with her frightened and injured charges, the lean-to in the middle of an old, overgrown field would have to do.

"Vice Captain?"

She turned, forcing a reassuring smile for the three recruits left to her. One, a strapping young man Matsumoto might have thought impressive if a fearful look didn't dominate his countenance, crouched next to a smaller boy. The boy was dark - skin, hair, and eyes were the color of dark-stained wood - and he had been eager upon departing on this trip, his first to the Living World since being assigned to the Tenth. Now, he looked eager to go home, but Matsumoto had seen flashes of determination that warmed her heart. The third was a girl, nearly as tall as Matsumoto herself, with mousy brown hair and narrow green eyes and a seemingly meek personality, but the vice captain had brought her along not only because that meekness needed to give way to confidence, but because the girl had demonstrated intelligence and an ability to strategize that, frankly, impressed Matsumoto. It was her who'd hailed the vice captain. "I don't sense anything too near us," she answered.

"Should we move, then?"

Matsumoto shook her head. "Sano went to get us some help. It'd be best if we stayed here." She didn't want to point out that, of the four of them, the girl had what seemed to be a broken ankle, the tall man was moving too slowly to be of much use and Matsumoto herself was dangerously light-headed.

"What about the other two?"

Matsumoto winced. Six had come with her. Sano had gone for help, at her request. Two of her recruits had been ambushed by two hollows and had frozen, unable to fight. Matsumoto had been unable to get to them in time.

Nothing made one feel quite so inept as being unable to help those placed in one's charge. She sighed, her right hand moving to clasp at a wound on her neck and shoulder. Had she not been concerned about her less-experienced recruits, four hollows would not have been a problem for her, especially so with Sano helping, but they'd both been so spread thin protecting them, they'd both taken injury. Sano had left for Soul Society; Matsumoto thought about sending her sole nearly-uninjured recruit – only uninjured by happenstance; a hollow had missed as it swung a clawed hand – but ultimately decided that Sano would be best. He'd be quick about it and would know exactly what to do. A recruit might run panicked.

"You have to," she finally said, "just forget about them for now."

"But-"

Matsumoto frowned. "Takashi, is it?" The dark skinned boy nodded. "Takashi, we think about them later. Right now, our only concern is getting ourselves out of here in one piece."

"I'd say," Takashi returned, his voice trembling a bit, "that some of us aren't in one piece anymore."

Matsumoto snorted; she knew that she had blood still running down her chest and staining her robes. The gash cut into her neck, and then sliced the skin open to show glints of white at her collarbone. She would admit to herself feeling lightheaded, but never to anyone else. "You're a keeper, Takashi," she told him. The mousy girl chuckled at that.

There was silence for a moment before the girl spoke. "Its closer," she said suddenly, her voice quiet and fearful.

Matsumoto nodded. "I know. Stay still and quiet. Do your best to suppress your energy. And stay here." She moved forward, peering around the rubble.

"Vice Captain?"

"Stay here," she said again, and slipped out of the lean-to, her zanpakatou drawn. Matsumoto crept around the piles of lumber, wiping her hand on her hip; the blood smeared over her fingers would only make her grip tenuous at best. The rain had not lightened up; it fell cold and fast, soaking anything it touched immediately. The wind whipped furiously, driving the rain into the ground. Her clothes were heavy and soaked through. Her hair blew into her face, but she didn't bother wiping it away. She kept both hands on the hilt of her sword, holding it tightly as she sought out her enemy.

She slunk forward, graceful even injured, intending to flank the hollows she could feel to her left and try to drive them away from the lean-to. She moved faster, toward her target. She wanted this over with; once those hollows were taken down, she could rest and wait for help to arrive.

Matsumoto was halfway between the tree line and the lean-to when the first of the hollows materialized from the shadows. She narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on her sword as she leapt forward.

She darted to the side, around a leg adorned with sharp talons, breathing heavily as her vision swam wildly. Matsumoto came up underneath the hollow's head, stumbling as she swung. Her zanpakatou impacted with the hollow's mask, jarring the sword from her grip as she fell to her knees. Blackness closed in on her even as the hollow above her roared.

It screamed at her, jaws opening to show rows of teeth already coated in the blood of her lost recruits. Matsumoto lurched forward, grabbing desperately for her sword as it descended on her. She turned, crying out and thrust the sword upward, wincing as the hollow impaled itself.

She fell back, landing hard and stared, unseeing, at the cloudy sky. Rain fell onto her face, but she didn't care. One of her enemies was gone, and that meant her recruits were safer. She couldn't bring herself to care about the blood pooling underneath her or the darkness edging her vision.

Matsumoto could only find it in herself to wonder about the other hollow she'd sensed. She rolled onto her side, still clutching her zanpakatou as tightly as she could, and peered into the trees.

Something moved in the shadows, distorting the rain.

She pushed herself to her knees, using her sword as leverage.

The hollow slinked through the trees, taking a few sauntering steps into the field. It grinned, and chuckled upon seeing the injured shinigami. A long, forked tongue slipped through its lips as it regarded her.

Matsumoto only stared back at it.

It cocked its head and looked beyond her. "I am the lucky one." Its voice rumbled like the thunder crackling in the sky above.

Matsumoto narrowed her eyes and followed its gaze, eyes widening when she realized what it was looking at.

The lean-to.

Her recruits.

With a yell, she swung her sword at it, all form and grace gone. It easily sidestepped her clumsy charge. She fell, mud and rainwater splashing around her, and her hands slipped on the wet ground. She rose to her knees, bringing her zanpakatou to bear, the tip pointed toward the hollow. "_Unare_…"

Her command was cut short as something slammed into her shoulder. She fell sideways, landing awkwardly on top of Haineko, the wind knocked from her. Wide-eyed, she looked up, horrified by what she saw.

A small, dark form stood above her, his sword raised for a lethal swing.

She knew he didn't have a chance. "Takashi!"

The recruit was knocked aside with a single, hard strike. Blood sprayed into the air and mixed with the rain. Takashi landed with a sickening crunch, rolling to a stop amid the tall grass. Matsumoto looked on, rage and grief welling within her. Her reiatsu flared, and she was so caught up in her own rage that she didn't register the presence of another shinigami close to her.

Matsumoto rolled off her sword, grabbing Haineko and surging to her feet as she swung it in a wide arc. She met resistance, but pressed forward, not noticing or caring about the blood that now stained the sword or the indignant cry the accompanied it. She yelled, and brought the sword down toward the hollow's mask, crying out in frustration as it dodged.

She fell to her knees again as momentum carried her around, her back to the hollow.

That's when she noticed another person there.

Her captain glared at her, his zanpakatou drawn and blood streaming down the side of his face. Matsumoto looked at him, at the deep gash under his eye and then down to her blood stained sword.

Realization hit her.

She'd very nearly decapitated her own captain.

He shook his head, and Matsumoto could have sworn his eyebrow actually twitched. But, then she looked closer, at something else in his face.

She didn't have time to wonder if that was actually a guarded concern in his eyes before he disappeared and dispatched the hollow in one efficient, graceful move.

* * *

The lean-to was wet and cold, but it was marginally better than standing outside. Hitsugaya, after taking care of the hollow, had single-handedly brought Takashi back inside while Matsumoto had trailed slowly behind. While he and the girl had tended to Takashi, Matsumoto had seen to her own injuries, bandaging them the best she could with what she had. She was leaning against the wall when Hitsugaya turned toward her, all traces of concern – if that's what she had seen – gone.

If that look was supposed to scare her, it failed miserably. It only made her angry.

He glared at her, the blood on the side of his face only making the expression even more dour. "Watch what you're doing."

The intent of his glare was, however, lost on his vice captain. Matsumoto – in pain and exhausted – seethed under his gaze and snapped back at him. "If you were as adept at swordplay as they say you are, you would have dodged that!"

"I shouldn't have had to," he returned. "If you were as good as Vice Captain as they say, you would have worked around me."

"I shouldn't have to!" She threw his words back to him. Her hands were fisted at her sides and, to her shame, her vision was starting to swim. "Working with you is not working around you."

"And working with you is not bending to your every whim."

"I'm not – " Matsumoto stopped talking suddenly, swaying on her feet. Her hand rose to her neck as her eyelids fluttered.

Hitsugaya's glare softened. "Oi, Matsumoto?"

She fell to her knees. Gasps rose from the recruits still conscious. Hitsugaya hurried forward and caught her with his hands on her shoulders. Her head was bowed, and her breathing harsh. "Matsumoto?"

"We're arguing in front of the recruits."

"I noticed." He pushed her back against the wall. "This is what you get for that."

"Me?" Her gaze was clouded. "You started it."

She thought he might have smirked; she couldn't be sure. "You yelled first," he answered.

"You needed yelled at." Her voice was getting softer, and her gaze distant.

He frowned. "So did you. You still do, so stay awake."

She blinked. "Aw, Captain, are you concerned?"

He shook his finger under her nose. "Do you know how much paperwork comes with replacing a Vice Captain?"

"I'm not going to work around you."

"And I'm not about to bend to your silly whims."

Her hand slipped from her shoulder, loosening the makeshift bandage there. Hitsugaya picked it up, frowning; it was a piece of her scarf. He pressed it against the wound. "When we get back and you get well, the first thing we're going to do is start sparring. We need to get to know each others' styles."

She nodded weakly.

Hitsugaya turned away. "You." He pointed to the girl. "Come here." The young woman made her way over, limping badly and whimpering quietly with every movement. Hitsugaya helped her ease herself down before guiding her hand to the bandage. "Keep pressure there, and keep talking to her. Try to keep her awake. I'll be near; I'm going to go make sure the area is clear."

The girl nodded gamely. Hitsugaya was on his feet before she spoke. "Sir?" He turned back to her, eyebrow raised. "Should we just be waiting here?" She swallowed, and Hitsugaya saw her hands trembling. "We all need help, but…" She trailed off and then started apologizing profusely for questioning his decisions.

"Stop it."

She snapped her mouth shut, tears building in her eyes.

"Enough already. Don't be so anxious. I have things taken care of; there will be people arriving to help us soon." Hitsugaya's tone wasn't any gentler, but it was enough that the girl calmed a bit. "Do you honestly see the two of us moving these three?" He started toward the exit, looking over his shoulder at her. "I'm not going far, and I'm not leaving you to your own devices."

The girl bowed her head. "Yes, sir. I apologize, sir."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes before facing forward again. He paused. "It won't be long now; help is coming. Can you feel their presence?"

The girl blinked and then closed her eyes. After a moment, she smiled brightly.

Hitsugaya held back a sigh; he couldn't help but reassure the young woman. Maybe it had been the threat of tears, or the fearful timbre in her voice, but something made him speak. "I'll go meet them." With another glance at Matsumoto, who watched him with clouded, but somehow approving, eyes, he disappeared.

The girl turned back to Matsumoto, smiling softly. "We'll be all right, I think."

Matsumoto nodded slowly, stiffly. "Yeah, I think we will."

A few days later, Matsumoto was up and around and back to her usual duties. Hitsugaya had declined to spar with her as of yet, saying she needed more time, and she'd only smiled gratefully and teased him about being scared to take her on.

He'd made some crack about her not even being able to tackle a single hollow.

She'd responded with some short joke she didn't even remember now.

A day after that, a pink scarf – a replica of the one she'd torn for bandaging – was hanging over the back of the couch.

Nearly a week after that, they'd sparred for the first time, but by that time, Matsumoto was pretty sure they'd be all right, and she knew Hitsugaya shared the sentiment.

After that, she started telling everyone who asked that it took a one night stand before she and her captain could work together very well at all.

Hitsugaya grumbled that she took entirely too much pleasure in that statement.

* * *

_Unare: Matsumoto's command to unleash her sword, Haineko. _

_See? Told you Matsumoto owned it. _

_I think it went action-y because I've a hankering for it and it's hard to find in this fandom. (Though it's not very action oriented… Hard to describe, this one is…) _

_Anyway… I hope you enjoyed. Bleach killed my brain with all the ideas it gave me. This is now the fifth one-shot in this fandom, and get this: they haven't all been action or angst. I even wrote fluff in this fandom! (The others will be found soon enough.)_

_Cheers!  
__Kel_


End file.
